Behnam Irani's family is very concerned over reports of his ill
health. He is experiencing some sort of intestinal disorder. This is of
extra concern to them because his brother died from intestinal cancer.
Please pray for his health, as well as for his family.

Rumors of Imminent Execution of Iranian Pastor Unconfirmed: Lawyers
for Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, who is awaiting a final decision
on his death sentence, have not received official communication from
authorities that their client will be executed. Rumors of an imminent
execution of Yousef Nadarkhani were leaked last week after a source
close to one of his lawyers contacted international media, informing
them that a lower court had signed Nadarkhanis execution papers and
that his death sentence would be carried out soon. Compass Direct News
reported that, according to their sources, Nadarkhani was confirmed to
be alive as of February 24th. We continue to pray for his safety. Read more>>

On Feb. 19, 2007, Father Nguyen Van Ly was arrested in Hue,
Vietnam for distributing material "harmful to the state." In March, he
was sentenced to eight years in prison.

On March 15, 2010,
Father Nguyen was released on medical parole after he suffered three
debilitating strokes. He spent 16 months convalescing before the
government demanded he return to complete his sentence.

Seriously ill and weak, Father Nguyen was rearrested on July 25, 2011. He remains in prison.

Imminent Execution of Iranian Pastor Unconfirmed
Unconfirmed rumors of Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani's execution were leaked
this week after a source close to one of his lawyers contacted
international media, informing them that a lower court had signed
Nadarkhani's execution papers and that his death sentence would be
carried out soon. Read More

On
Nov. 25, 2009, Zhang Huamei and four other Linfen-Fushan church leaders
from Shanxi Province were sentenced to criminal detention for two to
seven years, according to China Aid Association. The five church leaders
were accused of "gathering people to disturb the public order," because
they organized a prayer rally on Sept. 14, the day after 400 military
police raided the church's grounds. During the raid, more than 30
believers were seriously wounded and 17 buildings were destroyed.

Iranian extremists with
alleged links to Iranian security forces are using email to threaten
nearly a dozen Christians who have fled persecution in Iran.

The emails, sent to at
least 11 Christians, called on them to repent and return to Islam or
meet the extra-judicial judgment of 'The Unknown Soldiers of the Hidden
Imam' and face execution. It goes on to further warn that though they
have managed to escape persecution in Iran, "they are not hidden from
the acute eyes of the Unknown Soldiers".

The Unkown Soldiers wrote they were "advancing to the heart of the 'Zionist regime' over a number of years."

The email concludes by
offering the eleven Christians "the opportunity to repent and ask
forgiveness from the presence of the Hidden Imam", also known as the
12th Imam, a Messiah-figure in Shia Twelver theology and viewed as the
Great Allah.

"Otherwise, according to the Fatwa given by Mehdi the Hidden Imam, they must be killed," the email reportedly says.

The Unknown Soldiers are suspected to have close ties with Iranian security services.

CEO of Christian
Solidarity Worldwide, an Iranian church group and religious rights
organization, Mervyn Thomas stated that "The threat against the eleven
Iranian citizens in the Diaspora is an appalling and vicious move by a
group suspected of close association with the Iranian security forces."

"It is vital that
countries hosting Iranian refugees and asylum seekers ensure these
vulnerable people receive adequate protection, and make it clear to the
Iranian authorities that cross-border assassinations are wholly
unacceptable and will not be tolerated," stressed Thomas.

Reverend Samuel
Yeghnazar of Iranian church group Elam Ministries, said he and his
network of churches "are taking the threats very seriously."

The threats are to reportedly put additional pressure on Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian

Youcef Nadarkhani with his two children

facing a possible death
sentence on charges of "apostasy." Although an Iranian official and
government-linked media have added offenses that range from "extortion" to "security crimes" to the long list of alleged wrongdoings.

"CSW is in possession of
original court documents which clearly state that the charge against
him is apostasy, and that the death sentence was upheld by the Supreme
Court," Thomas said.

"Iran's efforts to
fabricate fresh charges against Pastor Nadarkhani this late in the day
reflect badly on the ruling regime and will only serve to bring the
Iranian legal system into disrepute and occasion further questions
regarding the independence of the judiciary."

Pastor Yang Xuan remains in prison. He was one of five leaders of
the Linfen house church network in Linfen, China arrested in November
2009. His wife, Yang Caizhen, was released early from her two year
sentence one year ago. Pray for Pastor Xuan and his family.

In February, Ilmurad Nurliev was released early from his four year
prison sentence, but he still has to report to the local police station
in his hometown of Mary each Saturday. On the first two Saturdays after
his release, police leaders warned him not to resume gathering the
members of his church for worship.

Nurliev has also asked the
Mary Town Court to return his theology diploma and ordination
certificate, both of which were confiscated when he was arrested in Aug.
2010. Officials told him to submit his request in writing.

Nurliev
is out of prison and back with his family, but you can write to Tohar
Haydarov in Uzbekistan, also imprisoned in 2010, by clicking here.

ChinaAid confirmed that relatives of human rights lawyer Gao
Zhisheng were finally allowed to visit him in prison two weeks ago,
putting to rest fears that Gao had died during the two-plus years of his
forced disappearance.

Gao's older brother and his father-in-law
were permitted a half-hour meeting with Gao on March 24 at the Shaya
prison, in a remote part of far western China. They saw each other
through a glass window and conversed using a prison phone.

Gao's
wife, Geng He, said her husband looked fine during the visit, which was
monitored by prison officials and Public Security Bureau officials. The
PSB instructed Gao's family not to speak about the visit to the outside
world.

Through
an ICC sponsored radio program, two new believers have come to know
Christ in a North African country! However, they were later detained by
authorities after they were overheard talking about their new faith with
an ICC sponsor working for the radio station. They were released, but
not without facing repercussions for following Christ. Click the link
below to read the full story.

VOM staff meet monthly with the families of prisoners in Pakistan.
In March, Imran Ghafur's family told us how Imran spends his time in
prison. At midnight, Imran prays and sings spiritual songs. Sometimes
Muslim prisoners join him and ask him to pray for them. Imran also
spends a lot of time in prayer and Bible reading. He is anxious to be
released so he can "do missionary work for Jesus."

Please pray for his family, who seemed to be feeling particularly low last month.

Christian Acquitted of Blasphemy Charge in Pakistan:
A Pakistani Christian, falsely charged with blasphemy after rescuing
his 8-year-old nephew from a beating at the hands of Muslim boys, has
been cleared of the charge. Dildar Masih, a 27-year-old father of two
young children, was acquitted on March 26 after prosecutors failed to
produce any evidence against him. Masih said that during his
imprisonment, he stood by his faith that Jesus would free him from the
false charge and that he would be able to return to his family. About
13 people are currently imprisoned in Multan Central Jail under
blasphemy charges, he said. I was the only Christian, and probably the
only one to have been able to return home in less than a year. Read more>>

The whole world was transfixed by Chen Guangcheng's dramatic escape and the high- level fight to protect him.

"I believe God was helping me," he told the South China Morning Post about his escape.

Jailed for more than four years
in 2006 on trumped-up charges following a show trial because of his
legal
work representing women who were forced into abortions through China One
Child policy, upon his release from jail Mr. Chen was placed under
extralegal
house arrest with his family in his rural village in eastern coastal
China.

His treatment was widely reported in the international media and raised on numerous occasions by foreign
governments, but Beijing had refused to do anything about the situation until his escape last week.

The battle over Mr. Chen's fate was thrown into the global spotlight when I reached Mr. Chen by cellphone
while at a Capitol Hill hearing and let Mr. Chen make his appeal for passage to the U.S. directly to U.S. lawmakers.

ChinaAid is at the forefront of fighting for Chen.

Bob Fu in the Hearing with the Chairman talking to Chen by
phone

Just as I worked with the
international media, the US Congress, the White House and State
Department to make
sure Chen was protected, well continue to fight for those who seek to
stand for and defend human rights around the world, and especially in
China.

Life Sentences for Blasphemy in Pakistan Overturned
Great News from Pakistan! A court acquitted a Christian couple of
blasphemy charges overturning their life sentences because prosecutors
failed to prove allegations that 32-year-old Munir Masih and his wife
Ruqayya defiled the Quran or insulted Muhammad. Read More

Praying Acteals Jailed Christians to the Finish Line!
My soul was poisoned with a desire for revenge, said Acteal prisoner
Pedro Mendez. After spending more than six years in Mexicos Cerro Hueco
Prison, Mendez was a bitter, angry man. Then in 2004, Mendez was
transferred to the Amate Prison, where he met some inmates who were
unlike everyone else. These men who trusted Christ in the bleakest of
circumstances were different. Slowly Mendezs heart began to change.Read More